CERN Investigators Publish Paper About Histological Predictors of Outcome in Ependymoma are Dependent on Anatomic Site Within the CNS

Ependymomas may originate in different compartments within the central nervous system. At present, the World Health Organization guidelines recommend a uniform grading scheme be used for ependymomas, independent of the anatomic site of origin.

In this study, we performed detailed histological examination on 238 ependymomas, including 103 that originated in the posterior fossa, 64 originating in the supratentorial compartment, and 71 from the spinal cord.

We found that ependymomas originating from each of these different sites had distinct histological features that were associated with patient outcomes. These results suggest that the grading schemes for ependymomas may need to be individualized based on the location of the primary tumor.